Dead Obsession
by Manu4380
Summary: It’s Brennan’s birthday and she’ll never forget it. Someone has an unexpected gift... What will happen to Brennan? Will Booth and the squints be able to help her?
1. An Unforgettable Anniversary

**A/N: **I can't say that this is _my_ fanfiction, because this was made by a group of people, 5 poor girls that had this idea, and it's our first try at this... English is not our first language so you might find some mistakes... Enjoy and Review!! Criticism is always welcome!!

We don't own Bones, but we'd like to...

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**Death Obsession: The Game**

Chapter One: An Unforgettable Anniversary

17th April 9.3 p.m. - In The Jeffersonian

Booth entered Brennan's office. She was looking at some bones of a soldier from World War 2 so she didn't hear him come in. When he stepped into her office, she noticed him. He kept walking until he fell over some boxes and he his head hit her desk and he lost his senses.

She rose from the chair and went to check him.

"Booth?!… Booth? Are you okay?"

She knelt down beside him to see if he was hurt. Then he opened his eyes.

"Hey! Next time you need to be more careful."

"What time will you go home?"

"Wow… I'm here worried about you and all you say is 'what time will you go home'?! Well, you just made me stay longer." She said pointing at the boxes in the floor.

"Oh… Sorry about that. You need help?"

"More help? No, thanks." She said sarcastically.

His phone rang. "Booth…Yeah. Hold on a second."

"Bones, I need to get this call outside. I'll be right back." And he left her office.

"Yes, Angela… Ok… I'm on my way." He said then hung up.

He entered her office again. "I've got to go, Bones. Something's up. We talk tomorrow?"

She nodded. "Okay. I see you tomorrow."

He left the Jeffersonian while she was arranging her office.

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10.37 p.m. - At Brennan's house

Booth arrived at her house. Inside were Angela, Hodgins, Zach, Cam and Russ.

"I'm here. So where will we start?"

"We'll start from living room." Angela said.

While they were preparing for the party, Brennan was leaving the Jeffersonian.

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11.43 p.m. - At the parking lot

She arrived at the parking lot in front of her house.

She exits the car and hears something. Looking around she doesn't see anything un-ordinary.

When she was locking her car, something hits her hard in the head. Putting her hand to her head, she sees blood. She tries to stay up and support herself on the car, but she passed out

The last thing she saw was a figure that seemed familiar. Then everything went dark.

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How's that for the first chapter? I know it's short... we'll try to make them longer. How about some reviews? Am I asking too much? 


	2. Muffins and Aliens

**A/N: **I know that it wasn't the best gift, if it was a good gift at all... Well, in this chapter, Booth and the squints noticed that Brennan is missing. Brennan will be in the next chapter, probably. I hope you like it!! If you think that something's wrong, you know what to do.

**Disclaimer: **Again, I don't own Bones, but I wish I did...

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Chapter Two: Muffins and Aliens 

18th April 12.30 p.m. - At Brennan's House

"Are you sure you didn't mess up too much?" Asked Angela.

"I did as you said. I just turned one box." Booth said.

"Then it was the bigger one." She said looking at her clock.

"Wow... this is really good! I have to order some of these for my birthday party" Said Hodgins, when he tasted the muffins.

"You're not supposed to eat that before Bren arrives" Angela said as she took the plate from Hodgins.

"What if she was abducted by aliens? These muffins might be in danger!" Hodgins said, taking two muffins from the plate.

"Abducted?!" Angela said to Booth.

"No... Bones always stays more time in the lab then she was supposed to..."

"But she's this late for anything, even being in the lab" Angela said, starting to get worried.

"Okay. Let's go outside see if she arrived yet. You," Booth said pointing to Zach "try her cell phone to know here she is."

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12.45 p.m. - Parking Lot

"So?" Booth said to Zach to know if he talked to Brennan.

"She didn't answer her cell phone and she's not at the Jeffersonian." He said.

"Keep trying. She might answer. She always answers." Booth said, looking around to see if she was there.

"Isn't that Dr. Brennan's car?" Cam asked, pointing to a car that was parked in front of the house.

"But there's nobody inside of the car." Hodgins said as he looked to the car.

"Your cell phone's ringing." Angela said to Booth.

"It's not mine that's ringing. It's not yours?" Booth asked to Hodgins.

"No." Hodgins said.

"Then who's it?" Booth asked.

"Uh... guys?" They looked up at Cam, "The sound's coming from the car..."

They approached the car and Booth looked at the window. "That's her cell phone. She never leaves her phone, because we might want to get in touch with her..."

"Bren, sweetie, we're getting worried" said Angela thinking that she was playing with them.

She looked at the other side of the car, seeing if she was hiding from them, when she stopped "That's… That's…"

They went to see what Angela was talking about.

"Yes," Zach said "That's blood"

"Do you… do you think that it's… it's from Bones?" Booth asked, already knowing the answer.

"I think that that is for us" said Hodgins pointing to the message written in blood.

SHE IS WITH ME

"I think it is for us…" said Cam

"She's with who?" asked Booth.

None of them knew where she was, but they would find her… at least they hope that she was alive when they find her…

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I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can, I promise... Until then, you can review and you can tell me who do you think that has Brennan. You can also give me some ideas for this story, if you want to. 


	3. The Game Begins

**A/N: **Thanks to everyone that review the story!! I hope you liked it!! Here's the next chapter. I know, that it's short, but that's the best I can do to not keep you waiting too long... I hope you like this chapter.

Thanks to my beta and my friends!! Some of them have been writting some fanfictions, such as **mag31 **and **bones junkie4life**... if you didn't read them yet, I'm telling you you should... they're good writters!!

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Chapter 3: The Game Begins

18th April 3.05 a.m. - Somewhere in a Warehouse

"Finally you woke up, Dr. Brennan. I was afraid that I had hit you too hard."

"You?! Weren't you in jail?" asked Brennan, knowing her kidnapper.

"I couldn't spend my whole life in jail, don't you think?" he said, getting closer, "My penalty was fulfilled two days ago."

"Then you may go back there soon…"

"I'm not going to be caught this time. I don't make the same mistake twice."

"Are you going to kill me?"

"That's not my plan. I just want to have fun with you, but if you misbehave, I might think about it…"

"It's not going to take too long until someone finds me."

"That depends of the intelligence of your friends." he started to walk away, but turned around to say one more thing "Oh… and your boyfriend's too, of course"

"He's not my boyfriend and he's going to find us."

"Till then, I'm going to have some fun with you."

With that he left, leaving Brennan in the darkness.

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4.15 a.m. - In the Jeffersonian

"So… What have you got?" Booth asked, wandering in the platform of the lab.

"We got the car, her purse with her things and her cell phone. We don't have anything more." said Zach.

"And the blood of the car?" Booth asked.

"We're analyzing it, but it's more likely to be hers." said Hodgins.

"Oh God…" said Angela "That means that she's hurt."

"And from the amount, I would say that she's very hurt or even…" said Zach.

"Zach!!" said Booth, cutting him off, "We can't think like that. If she was already dead, why would he or she leave us that message?"

"Agent Booth" said the other agent from the FBI, "We found this in her office. It has your name on it."

He handed Booth the box and left.

"Be careful! It can be a bomb." said Hodgins.

"I don't think so," said Booth, "Let's see what's in here."

Inside of the box was a copy of her novel. Booth didn't take it, because it could have finger prints.

Hodgins put on some gloves and took the book to examine it very carefully. Opening it, he saw a little thing glowing inside. Booth recognized it immediately.

"That's Bones' bracelet."

"That only proves that she is or she was with him, but it can't tell us where she is." said Angela without hopes.

"The bracelet, maybe not, but this…maybe will." said Hodgins.

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So, what do you think?? Should I let them found something or not? Tell me what you think that's gonna happen!! You can give me some ideas... maybe I'll use them... Review!! 


	4. Threats and Knives

**A/N: **Okay... I know this is really short and I hope that this will be the shortest chapter of this story, really! This chapter is kind of an introduction for the next one.

Thanks for the reviews, specially to **beaglelvr93**, who reviewed the other three chapters. Thanks for those you gave some ideas and those who are liking this story I hope that you'll keep liking it!

**Disclaimer:** Bones? Mine? Not really...

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Chapter 4: Threats and Knives 

18th April 5.30 a.m. - Somewhere in a Warehouse

The door opens, illuminating the room. Seeing the light, Brennan sees her kidnapper enter the room.

"So... you're not enjoying your sleeping?" He asked while playing with a knife.

"Are you going do peel an apple?! 'Cause with that knife you can't do more than that." Brennan said.

"You are very funny today, aren't you? Doesn't seem that you are aware that your life is in danger."

"You don't scare me when you say that."

"I'm glad I don't, because I don't think that you'll be joking like that when you feel this knife on your skin." He said, then he opened the bag that was hanging behind her and he took out a camera. "Well… Consider this a little present for your friends: seeing their friend being tortured, mainly your boyfriend. You're destined to be mine. He can't have you. YOU ARE MINE!" he said, while preparing the camera.

"He's not my boyfriend and I'll never be yours!"

"If he is not your boyfriend, this is even better. He'll have double suffering."

"What do you mean?"

"Never - mind. Even if I told you, you can never talk with him about it, because when he finds you, you won't be able to talk to him about anything." He said approaching her.

"If you want me to be _yours_, then why are you trying to kill me?"

"Who said that I would kill you? You betrayed me, that's why you're paying for it right now."

"You were guilty and the justice has to be done. And you'll pay for what you are doing to me right now."

"You know that you're not in the right place for threats," he said while he put the knife to her neck "don't you think?"

In the warehouse, soon the silence was placed by cries of pain coming from Brennan, as soon as the torture started.

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I know... short, right? I try, really... Oh... You can guess who you think the guy is. Wanna try? I want to know who do you think he is... Ideas are always welcome! Thanks for reading this little thing!! Tell you what... If I get reviews, I might post the next chapter sooner... What do you think? Review!! 


	5. The Second Part of the Game

**A/N:** Hey guys!! Thank you so much for the reviews!! It's good to know that there are people liking this story!! Thanks again to my friends that wrote this story with me!!

Here's the next chapter. I'm pretty sure that after this chapter there will be lot's of people finding out who the guy is... Some of you already found out, but I couldn't say who he was before this chapter and even being sure that lots of people will find out, I won't confirm that... Sorry, but the confirmation will come soon. In this chapter, there's a little reference to _'The Killer in the Concrete'_... I don't think it's too important, but it's there anyway... I hope you like it!!

**Disclaimer:** We all know that I don't own Bones...

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Chapter 5: The Second Part of the Game

18th April 7.27 a.m. - Jeffersonian

When Booth arrived at the Jeffersonian, he asked Hodgins, "You have anything from the hair you found in the box?"

"No. It'll take a few days since we don't have anything to compare it to and it'll only work if the hair has its root. Without that we have nothing." Hodgins answered.

"Days?!" Booth said astonished "I need that for yesterday!"

"I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise anything. We received a message from the kidnapper."

Hearing this, Booth felt more hopeful about his chances of finding Bones. "And…?"

"And we didn't see it yet, because we were waiting for you to come." Angela said.

They opened the box. Inside were a video cassette and one letter. The letter said '_She will remember me, even if she doesn't want to'_.

"What does he mean with that?" Hodgins asked.

"I don't know, but I think we might know if we see the video." Zach answered.

In the video, they saw Brennan being tortured. Her kidnapper made some cuts in her arms, in her legs and then he made a cut in her face.

Angela couldn't take it anymore and left the room crying.

"I'm gonna see how she is. If you found anything, you know where I am." Hodgins stood up and went to see where Angela went.

Zach and Booth were still in the room, not because they liked what they were seeing, but because that was the only lead they could have to know were Brennan was.

In that moment, the kidnapper took something they couldn't see what it was, but he approached the camera and they saw that he had a hot screwdriver. '_Oh God…' _Booth thought when he saw it. He knew what was going to happen next and he felt bad for not being there to protect her from that pain that he had already tried.

She cried really loud. She was suffering. Booth felt as if they were burning him again, but this pain was in his heart. The kidnapper was burning letters on her back: "_OL" , _but they were too shocked to think of what that meant.

She passed out from the pain that he was causing her. After that, he approached the camera.

'_I hope you liked this little show, Agent Booth'_ he looked at Brennan and then looked at the camera once more _'It seems that your girlfriend didn't like it too much' _Booth was too angry to notice that he said that she was his girlfriend. All he was thinking right now was how to make him pay for that. The kidnapper continued, _'Maybe next time she'll like more. But, like I said before, she won't forget me, even if she wants to.'_ And then the monitor went black.

In that moment, Booth wished that it was him the one being tortured and not Brennan.

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Short as always, right? I'm really sorry, but I'm trying my best to do them longer... So... What about a review giving me your opinion about the guy that has Brennan?

Oh... By the way, some people mentioned Sully... I'm not sure if Sully will appear in this story... I want your opinion. Should I bring Sully back or leave him in his boat wherever he is?

You know what to do. Reviews are appreciated!! Thanks again for reading this!!


	6. Where's Parker?

**A/N:** I hope you're liking this story so far. I just wanted to tell you something... If after you read this chapter you want to hit me, I wasn't the one who wrote it, so be nice with me and I won't let anything bad happen.

Thanks for the reviews!! You guys rock!! Now, about Sully... I still need more opinions. Can you please tell me if I should bring him back or let him stay in his boat? I appreciate if you do that. Thanks!!

**Disclaimer:** I don't need to say it again... You know that _Bones_ is not mine...

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Chapter 6: Where's Parker?

18th April 5.14 p.m. - Jeffersonian

Booth's cell phone started ringing. "Booth"

"Next time you pick up Parker, tell me, okay? They told me that a man picked him up." Rebecca said.

"I didn't pick him up" Booth said.

"No? Then where is he?" She asked.

"I don't know. You checked the school yet?"

"I told you that I went there and they told me that a man picked him up. I thought it was you." Rebecca screamed.

"Wasn't it your boyfriend?" Booth asked.

"Are you jealous that he might have picked him up?" She said.

"What?! No, of course not! I'm worried about my son that's all." Booth answered.

"Well, it wasn't him. He's here with me right now." She said. Then she started to freak out. "Do you think that someone took him? What if someone kidnapped him?"

"Don't even say that! Who would do that to…" Then he realized _'Oh my God'_ he thought. "Listen, Rebecca, I gotta go now. I'll call you as soon as I know something, okay?"

"Okay, but please find him. And call me as soon as you know where he is, okay?"

"Okay. Bye." He said and hung up.

He walked into Brennan's office where the squints were.

"Anything new?" he asked. Angela handed him a letter that said _Agent Booth._

Booth opened the envelope and read what was written in the letter.

'_Agent Booth, you must be feeling really bad knowing that you couldn't save Dr. Brennan and now your son. I think it's Parker, right? Well, I tell you what, you have until 2 a.m. of 20__th__ April. If you're not here, then let's just say that you might not see them again.'_

"I'll kill him! If he touches my little boy, I'll kill him". Booth said looking at the letter one more time.

"Hey, hey… Take it easy, sweetie." Angela said while she put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him, "We need you to stay calm. You're not gonna help if you're like that."

"Yeah… You're right. He'll suffer when I catch him."

With that, Booth took the letter and the envelope to the FBI to see if they could find anything there.

"I think he didn't see this." Angel said showing a little box to Hodgins, "What do you think this is?"

"Let me see." He said taking the little box in his hands. He opened the box and said, "This is a fingernail and guess what."

"What is it?" Angela said hoping that they could find any leap to the place they were.

"I think that I can find where they are. There is some kind of slime here. I'll check it out." He started to leave but Angela called him.

"Don't say anything to Booth until we know what we have for sure."

"Okay, Ange." He said and then he left to analyze the fingernail.

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Awww... Poor Booth... What do you think that will happen now? Do you know who the guy is already?

That's all for now... next chapter will be out soon, I hope... Thanks for reading!!

Again I ask for your opinion about Sully... it's really important guys!!


	7. Little Family

**A/N:** Sorry about the last chapter, but it was really necessary. Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you're liking this story. Thanks to all the ideas and thanks for your opinions about the destiny of Sully, but I still need more opinions!! Please!! Here's the 7th chapter. I hope you like it!!

**Disclaimer:** Fox owns Bones, not me...

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Chapter 7: Little Family 

18th April 3.48 p.m. - Somewhere in a Warehouse

Brennan woke up and heard a child crying. _Who's that? It seems a child. Torturing a child?! Who does that?!_

He enters the room taking Parker by his hair.

"Parker!" She said, recognizing the child, "What did you do to him?! He's just a child!" she then noticed that Parker's hand was bleeding.

"I won't need you so soon, so I'll put you in the dark room in the back of this warehouse." he said pushing Parker inside of a cellar and closed the door, "I see that you know this child." He said approaching Brennan, "If he's your boyfriend's son, then you are his stepmother, right?"

"He's not my boyfriend, so you're wrong. And you shouldn't torture a child that has nothing to do with this." She said.

"Actually, he does. Being your boyfriend's son, I have the two more precious things of his life."

"Then you made a mistake. He's not my boyfriend. I'm not that important to him as you think. We're just partners." She told him.

"I don't think that he shares the same opinion, but he'll come here anyway. After I'm done with him you'll be mine." He said.

"I'll never be yours!" she said "You want to catch Booth? And you're using me and Parker to attract him? Why do you want to catch Booth?" she asked starting to get worried, because Booth would come to save them and would end up being killed just because the guy thought they were together.

"Well, if he's dead, he won't stay in the way of our happiness. And we can keep the kid. We'll be a happy family." he said and started imagining their life together. Parker was playing in the backyard, she was cooking, they had a child together…

She brought him back to reality, "You're mad if you think that I'll marry you someday. And believe me, it has nothing to do with Booth. Sorry if I don't feel attracted to psychopaths."

"Oh… Don't worry. As soon as he's gone, dead I mean, you'll change your mind. I'll be a good father to the kid."

"Do you think that he'd want a father like you after what you did to him?"

"Well, if you don't want your boyfriend's kid we can always have one on our own…" he said caressing her face.

She moved away from his touch and said, "If you ever thought that I'd have a child with you, you're completely wrong. You're mentally ill. I think you should see a psychiatrist. I think it's the best you can do."

"You're pushing too much, sweetheart."

That was the last think she heard before everything went black again. As soon as she fainted, he started his torture again. At least she wouldn't feel it this time.

When she woke up some minutes later, he was gone and she felt all her body in pain. She put her hands in her face. There was a lot of blood. '_He must've hit me when I passed out' _she started crying, not only for the pain from her injuries, but because she didn't want to be here. She should've been home. _'This is one of those times that I think that if I went home sooner, none of this would've happen. How could I let myself be caught?' _she asked to herself all the time.

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6.37 p.m. – Jeffersonian

Booth had just arrived the Jeffersonian when Zach called him.

"Agent Booth! Agent Booth!" he said running to catch up with him "We received another package."

"Then let's see what is it." he said, both walking into Brennan's office where the package and the other squints were waiting. Angela was going to say something, but Booth interrupted her knowing what she was going to say. "I know, I know. You didn't open it yet, because you were waiting for me."

"Well, you're here now, so let's see it!" she said taking the package.

"Oh my God… how can someone do that?!" she said after she saw what was inside.

Booth took it from Angela and stopped after seeing what it was. There was photo of Parker. He was unconscious, but he was in a dark room. The photograph was taken with flash, so they could see that Parker had some bruises, probably caused by the kidnapper.

'_Okay… stay calm, Booth. They need you now more than ever.'_ He thought to himself. Then he saw something that might be helpful.

"I know that… But I can't think the exact place where it is…" he said trying to remember where it was, "Do you recognize this, Hodgins?"

Hodgins took the photograph and then he left the office in a hurry. Moments later he came back with the photograph and some papers.

"I analyzed the slime found in the other little box and I had some results, but the place where it was from, it's completely deserted now… But that's the place we can see in the photograph. That used to be an industrial zone, but the factories are already closed… they are abandoned… But it's possible that they are there. If the warehouse we choose is the one where they are, we might found them in time."

"Yeah, but if it's the wrong one, he might see us and he can do something to them… it's dangerous, you know? We have to know which one is for sure. We'll wait until the next package comes, ok?" Booth said.

The others nodded. They'd have to wait until they knew for sure where they were. Until then, anything could happen.

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So... This one is longer, right? Let me know what you think!! Oh... and about Sully... right now he might not appear, but I need to know what you think about that. Thanks for reading! I might take some time to update the next chapter, but I'll do my best to update soon!! Uh... Review? 


	8. Is This the End of the Game?

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait, but I was very busy this week, I still am, and I didn't write much. Okay, here's the next chapter. I won't keep the secret anymore. You can find who the guy is in this chapter. Don't worry. They'll find them eventually...

About the reviews... Thanks to everyone who reviewed!! You guys are amazing!! About the Sully thing, I decided that he might not appear in this story. He'll only appear if I **really** need him.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine...

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Chapter 8: Is This the End of the Game? 

19th April 7:02 a.m. - Jeffersonian

"Booth? You're still here?" Angela said, while she opened the curtains from Brennan's office, to let the sun illuminate the room "You slept in here?" Booth nodded. "I know that you're suffering a lot, but you can't let him win."

Booth stood up and said "I'll never let him win! And of course I'm suffering! He has my son, remember?"

"And Bren…" Angela said.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, knowing exactly what she meant by that.

"He has Brennan too" Angela said trying to seem innocent.

"I know what you said, but you said that as if it meant something."

"Come on, sweetie. Everybody knows that you like each other, but neither of you make the first move." Booth opened his mouth to protest, but she continued "Don't! We all know that it's true. We're all suffering, but you're in more pain than us. You know I'm telling the truth."

Booth didn't know what to say. When he managed to say something, he was saved by Hodgins.

"Guys! The lab results arrived." he said showing them the paper with the results.

Booth took the paper from Hodgins' hand to know the results. Seeing them, Booth recognized the person.

"Oh… I should've know by now that it was him. He was always obsessed with Bones and her books… how can't I remembered him?" he said really angry with the guy.

"Uh.. Booth? You forgot to say the name of the guy… We don't have some kind of crystal ball, you know?" Angela said, trying to understand who was the guy.

"'_OL' _means 'Oliver Laurier'." Hodgins said, after taking the paper from Booth's hand. "Wasn't he in jail?" Hodgins asked them.

"I don't know. I guess it wasn't for too long. Maybe he escaped prison, got a good lawyer or his penalty is finished." Angela said.

"Well, when you stalk somebody even after you got a restraining order, then you can go to jail. He got some time there, but I'm not sure how much… but he's out now, that's for sure." Booth said "I going to the Bureau now to see what he have been doing since he got out of jail. Maybe I'll find something."

Booth left the Jeffersonian, leaving Angela and Hodgins waiting until he found anything.

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10.56 a.m. - Federal Bureau of Investigation

"Charlie" Booth said when he stepped into the agent's office "I need you to find out what Oliver Laurier has been doing since he left the prison. I want to know every step that he took, okay?"

"Yes, Agent Booth. I'll get right on it."

"As soon as you find something…"

"I'll tell you, Agent Booth. Don't worry." Charlie said.

"You're a good Agent, Charlie. Thanks." Booth said.

Agent Charlie left his office to start the search, hoping that this one will be as good as the one with Max Keenan.

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8.56 p.m. - Jeffersonian

Booth walked into Brennan's office, where the squints were still waiting for news.

"We found this." Booth said, giving the paper to Hodgins. "You know where that is and how do we get there?" He asked him.

"Well, this corresponds to the results we saw earlier…" he said.

"You're not answering my question." Booth said impatiently. "You know where it is or not?"

"I think I know." Hodgins said.

"Then let's go. They're waiting for us." Booth said starting to leave.

"It'll take us a couple of hours and it depends on traffic." Hodgins said.

"Okay, then we better hurry."

And all of them left, all of them thinking about Brennan and Parker and what could've happened to them.

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11.34 p.m. - Somewhere in a warehouse

"Well," he said taking the plate "If you don't eat, you'll be weak and you'll last less. I don't think that you're friends would be happy if they arrived here to save you and see that you were already dead, don't you think? Besides," he said stroking her cheek "I want you strong enough so when your boyfriend is dead, we can 'party', if you know what I mean…"

"That will never happen. I'm not 'partying' with you and Booth will not die." she said, moving away from his touch.

"Before they come, I want to prepare you so together we can make him suffer. I just have to go home to get some things, but I'll be back soon. Anyways," he said putting the plate in the table next to her "I'll left this here. Maybe you'll change your mind and you want to give some resistance. I'd prefer you demonstrated all your love and passion in our first night together, then your boyfriend wouldn't be an obstacle. If he just let us be happy together, I'd let him go with life, but he loves you too much to let us be happy without interfering. Don't worry, it'll be worth it. Anything is worth it for our happiness."

"I'll never be happy with you, with or without Booth!" she said.

"I'll be back in 2 or 3 hours. I know you'll miss me." he said and left the room.

'_Please, Booth… I need you to get me out of here, but you have to be careful. He's dangerous.'_ she thought.

She just hopped that Booth would get there in time to avoid all of that from happening.

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So... What do you think? 

If you think that someone is ooc or the story is not going very well, tell me something, okay? It helps a lot!! I won't promise an update soon... As I said before, I'm kinda busy this week, but I'll post it as soon as I can!!

_**'saragillie'**, about that thing that you told me -- the idea that he should shave their heads and send them the hair -- that was the original idea, but some of us disagreed with that, so it won't happen here... but I'll be waiting for more ideas!!_


	9. Where's Booth When We Need Him?

**A/N:** Sorry... I know I took too long to update this, but I've been busy. Thanks for the reviews, for the ideas, for reading and for putting the story on your story alerts. I'm glad you're liking the story. Well, if you don't, tell me so!! Special thanks to saragillie, mag31, fortune kookie 91 and slygirl16.

**Disclaimer:** I'm Portuguese, what makes you think that I own Bones?

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Chapter 9: Where's Booth When We Need Him?

20th April 2.07 a.m. - Somewhere in a Warehouse

It was raining heavily when Oliver approached Brennan and woke her up by throwing water on her.

"What do you want now?" she asked him "What you've done already isn't enough?"

"It'll be today," he said smiling.

"What will happen today?" she asked. "It's the day you're going to kill me?"

Oliver laughed.

"Kill you?! Of course not! Today you'll be mine, absolutely mine!"

"Yours? That'll be in your dreams or in my nightmares!" she said.

"Don't be like that…" he said "My dream will come true. You like me, you just haven't noticed it yet. But you'll see… As soon as your agent isn't with us anymore, you'll be with me because you love me."

"The only thing I'd love would be knowing how to get out of this place as soon as possible so Parker and I can leave! Where is he? What did you do to him?" she started panicking.

"Who? Oh… Your boyfriend's son. I think I forgot him about a second. Don't worry. You said that he would never accept me as his new father, so now it's time to have our own child, don't you think, dear?"

"What the hell are you talking about?! I don't love you and I never will! You're making me suffer, remember? How am I supposed to love someone that tortures me? You'll pay for what you're doing," she said angrily.

"You_ will _love me! It can be the easy way or the hard way! You choose!" he yelled.

Brennan started to feel frightened, especially when he approached her. He pulled off her shirt and started kissing her neck, her cheek and then he kissed her hard on the lips.

While he was distracted kissing her, she grabbed a piece of wood from the floor and hit him on the head. Unfortunately, it wasn't hard enough to render him unconscious.

"You're going to pay for that!" he threatened her.

"I'll never be yours!" she screamed at him.

"You won't? I thought you'd like to see the little boy alive… If you think he'll be worth the sacrifice…"

"Don't you dare touch him!" she cried.

"Well, I don't exactly need to touch him to kill him, you know?" he started to walk to the place where Parker was.

"No, wait!" she said and he came back.

"Please, I'll do whatever you want, but don't hurt him! Please!" she pleaded.

"Good! Now we're talking…" he said, approaching her again "You'll see. You'll love me so much."

"I doubt it" she said in a low voice.

"What did you said, _honey_?"

"Me? Uh… Nothing. I didn't say anything," she said innocently.

"Then we can get back to what we were doing and you interrupted. Don't worry, I know you're a little nervous, because it's our first time together. I'm nervous too, but I won't hurt you. If you cooperate, of course."

"I'll do whatever you want if you promise not to hurt Parker," she begged.

"I can't promise that."

"What are you going to do to him?" she asked, a little scared of what he might do.

"I don't know yet."

He approached her and took her in his arms and started kissing her again.

'_Please, Booth! I can't take it anymore! You have to come save me and Parker!'_ she thought, tears falling from her eyes.

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Mwahahahaha!! (that was just for you Mag) What should I do now? Should I let Booth save them? Or should I let Oliver win? Tell me!! I'll be waiting for some reviews... and sorry, but I still don't know when I'll post the next chapter. But I'll try to post it soon!! 


	10. Who will Win this Game?

**A/N:** This one is really short... just because a lot of people told me that Booth should save them, I wrote a little piece of the arrival of Booth. I won't promise that he'll save them but at least he tries. They will only see Brennan in the next chapter. Remember that Oliver gave them until 2 am to save her, so take a look at the time. Thanks for the reviews, I hope to not dissapoint you with this story.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing... Nada!!

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Chapter 10: Who Will Win This Game?

19th April 9.34 p.m. - Outside of the Jeffersonian

"Okay, people. We're doing this my way. I'm driving. Hodgins, you're the navigator and the three of you can sit in the back." Booth said approaching the car.

"Booth!" Hodgins called.

"What?"

"It'll take three or four hours to get there," Hodgins said.

"It might be far away, but this is an FBI vehicle. I have sirens and that, my friend, is really helpful," he replied.

They all got into the car, prepared for a long trip, each hoping that nothing worse had happened to Brennan and Parker since their last communication with the kidnapper.

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20th April 1.30 a.m. - Somewhere in the entrance of the Industrial Zone

"People!" Booth yelled to get their attention. "We'll have to go on foot now on so he won't hear the sound of the car. If he becomes aware of our presence, he may freak out and kill Bones or Parker. We don't want that, right?"

The others shook their heads.

"Cam, I want you to stay here. If you see or hear anything out of the ordinary, call the FBI, okay?"

"Okay, but only because it's really necessary. If it wasn't, I'd go with you to help you kick his ass," she said.

"Zach, you stay with Angela," Booth said.  
"No way!" Hodgins said "You stay with Zach and I stay with Angela."

"Okay. But I only agreed, because I didn't want to waste more time," he said. "Well, like I was saying, Hodgins, you stay with Angela, outside the warehouse, in case he tries to run away. Zach and I will go inside."  
"Okay, guys. Be careful," Cam said.

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2.08 a.m. - Somewhere outside the Warehouse

"Now, you two, stay here," Booth said to Hodgins and Angela, "and we go in. Come on, Zach."

Angela and Hodgins remained at the door, ready to catch Oliver if he tried to escape.

As Booth stepped into the warehouse, he pulled out his gun and cocked it. Zach was right behind him, a little afraid of what could happen.

Entering the room, Booth listened to part of the conversation they were having inside. _"What are you going to do to him?" "I don't know yet"._

Afraid of what Oliver might do to Brennan if their presence was discovered, Booth walked slowly and quietly into the room.


	11. Someone Wins, Someone Loses

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait... I really am, but now I'm on holidays, which means I'm not always at home. Well, but here's the next chapter. So... This one might be a bit complicated, so I'm gonna ask you to take a careful look at the time!! There's a lot of things happen at the same time and sometimes it kinda rewinds. I hope you'll like it!!

**Disclaimer:** Nope... I still don't own Bones, but we're thinking about stole it... what do you think? Wanna help?

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Chapter 11: Someone wins and Someone loses 

20th April 2.10 a.m. - Somewhere in a Warehouse

Unfortunately, Brennan couldn't do anything to avoid what was going to happen next. She wanted to resist, but she knew that if she did, she'd be putting Parker's life in danger.

Everything seemed lost. Oliver reached toward the button of her pants, when something made him stop.

He stood up and recognized someone in the door.

"Agent Booth! You finally arrived!" he said and approached Brennan again. "It's a shame that I can't talk to you right now. I'm a little busy with my wife-to-be, as you can see."

Brennan knew Oliver was trying to provoke Booth, but she was helpless to prevent or counter it.

"I don't think that you'll rape a woman with a gun pointed at your head," Booth said, raising his weapon.

"You think I'm going to rape her? She accepted to do this. I'm not doing anything against her will." Oliver said.

'_That's not true!' She thought, enraged. 'I only let he do that because of Parker, not because I wanted him to do it. But now that Booth is here, I don't have to. Please, Booth, don't believe in what he's saying. I need you to get him and get me and Parker out of here.'_

Booth looked into Brennan's eyes and saw her panic. _'He must have threatened her with something,'_ he thought. _'Parker! She was going to do this because of Parker.'_

"You blackmailed her. That's why she was letting you do this." Booth said looking at Oliver again. "If I were you, I wouldn't do anything more or you'll pay even more for this."

At that moment, Oliver plunged his hand on his pocket to pull out the gun.

"Booth!" Brennan tried to warn him about the gun. Oliver grabbed the knife with his free hand and stabbed Brennan, then shot in Booth's direction. Oliver turned and ran for the exit.

'_Now that Booth is out of the way, we can be happy. I'll find you and then you'll be mine, my dear.' _he thought as he left the warehouse.

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2.19 a.m. - Somewhere in the entrance of the Industrial Zone

Cam was sitting in Booth's SUV. She looked at her watch. _'2.20... they left one hour ago. I hope they found her already,'_ she thought.

Suddenly, she heard a loud noise.

"Oh! That was a gunshot!" she realised.

She reached for her cellphone.

"Hello? Director Cullen? It's Dr. Saroyan, I need your help. We came to save Dr. Brennan and I heard a gunshot. I don't know what happened or who shot who. I'll give you the address..."

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2.27 a.m. - Somewhere outside the Warehouse

When Oliver burst through the door, Hodgins followed him. Oliver wrapped an arm around Angela's neck, put the gun to her temple, and threatened Hodgins.

"Put the gun down or else I kill her." he said.

"Easy, there dude." Hodgins said, putting the gun down.

"Now, send me the gun. Kick it!" he said.

Hodgins kicked the gun and Oliver took it.

"If I didn't love Brennan so much, maybe I'd have you for my wife," he whispered in Angela's ear before leaving with two guns.

"Are you okay?" Hodgins asked Angela.

"Yes, I'm fine. Let's see what happened inside." she said.

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2.35 a.m. - Somewhere in a Warehouse

"Bones!" Booth shouted, seeing her fainting. He approached her to free her hands and feet and see if the cut was too deep.

"Hold on, Bones." he said "Everything is going to be fine. We've got you. Don't worry." he said, knelling next to her.

In that moment, Angela and Hodgins enter into the warehouse after the 'incident' with Oliver outside.

"Bren?! Zach?! What happened here?" Angela asked after seeing Brennan unconscious next to Booth and Zach on the floor.

"It was Oliver. I already called an ambulance. Angela, see how's Zach's doing. Oliver shot him. Hodgins, see if you can find my son," Booth ordered.

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2.38 a.m. - Somewhere at the entrance of the Industrial Zone

Cam was waiting for Cullen and the other agents, when she saw something. She looked better and saw it was Oliver.

_'Well, he wasn't shot, I just hope that he missed and everybody is alright,' _she thought.

She started chasing him. She was so close she almost caught him, but he turned back and tried to shoot her, missing.

She had to stop. As she dialed Cullen again, she watched him run away.

"Yes. It's Dr. Saroyan again. The suspect ran away. I think you should see his house. Maybe he's close."

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2.56 a.m. - Inside the Warehouse

"The ambulance is here!" Angela said, as the paramedics rushed in. While they started looking at Brennan and Zack, Hodgins ran in carrying Parker.

Booth followed Brennan's stretcher out of the warehouse with Parker beside him.

"Are you sure you're okay, bud? He didn't hurt you too much?"

"I'm okay, daddy. Are Dr. Bones and Zach going to be okay?"

"Of course they will." he said, then he thought to himself 'I hope so...'

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Oops... Will Brennan survive? What about Oliver. What do you think that will happen to him? Tell me what you think!! Review. 


	12. The Meeting and the Death

**A/N:** Thanks for reading and thanks for the reviews!! I'm glad there are people that enjoy this story. So... this one and the next 2 chapters will be really short, but they're really needed. We don't need the hours anymore (they already have Brennan and Parker) but still, they will be around here... Since these chapters are short, I'll try and post them sooner... I'm on holidays now and I don't have too much time to update that fast, because when I'm at home I'm busy with other things... I hope you like this chapter!! I'd be glad if you reviewed and tell me what you thought about it.

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Chapter 12: The Meeting and the Death

20th April 5.17 a.m. - Hospital

"Agent Booth?"

"Yes, that's me." he said, approaching the doctor.

"Your son is fine. Even though he lost some blood, it's not serious. At the moment, he's with our psychologist. Situations like this are very traumatic to children, specially as young as your son." the doctor informed him.

"What about Bon… Doctor Brennan? Is she okay?" he asked, concerned with her.

"She lost a lot of blood because of a deep cut, probably made by a knife. Our exams indicate no damage to her internal organs. The problem is with the 3rd degree burns that she has on her back. She'll have to stay a week in the hospital for observations." the doctor told him.

"Can we see her?" Angela asked him.

"Not yet. She needs to rest, but you can see her later."

As he finished, a nurse ran into the room.

"Doctor Mark, I have some really bad news." she said.

"What happened?" he asked, worried.

"The patient from the 117 didn't make it."

"Poor Zach…" he said sadly.

"Zach?!" Hodgins asked "You said Zach?"

"Yeah. He entered before doctor Brennan did. He went to surgery, but it didn't go very well." He said lowered his head, "Too bad. He was young." Then he left.

"Are you thinking the same I'm thinking?" Angela asked.

"I can't believe that Zach's dead!" Hodgins said.

And there they were, in the waiting room, all of them sad because they lost their friend. Was it really their Zach?


	13. The Revenge

**A/N:** Well, here's the next chapter... (Pay atention to the last line of the chapter when you read it... it'll be important for the 15th chapter) Yeah. Short again. I'm sorry. I told you before... the next chapters are shorter, but there will be some longer!! Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you're liking... about Zach... I don't know... what do you think? Don't forget to review!!

**Disclaimer:** Do you know where Portugal is? If you don't, check it on the internet or some map and you'll find one of the million reasons I don't own Bones...

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Chapter 13: Is it the end?

20th April 10.37 p.m. - Hospital

That day, all of them stayed in the waiting room. Hours passed and it was already night. The sky was dark now and it started raining. They fell asleep in the hospital's waiting room.

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21st April 10.56 a.m. - Hospital

The next morning the sun shone brightly. Booth, Angela and Hodgins were woken up by the doctor.

"How is she, doctor? Did something happen?" Booth started to panic. If anything happened to her, he'd never forgive himself for not being there sooner.

"Well, she's better now" Booth released a breath that he was holding "She's sleeping due to the painkillers. 10 percent of her body was burned. She needs to stay for a couple of weeks for observation and treatment."

"Can we see her now?" Angela asked, knowing that Booth wanted to see her but wasn't going to ask.

"Yes. She's in the room 629." he pointed to the end of the hall.

Booth entered the room. Angela and Hodgins stayed outside, waiting for him. They knew he needed time with her alone.

Since there were only 3 hours until Zach's funeral and it took 2 hours to get there, he had to be quick.

He looked at her. She wasn't the same now. She looked whiter and weaker. He took her hand in his. He needed to feel her so that he was sure that she was really there, that she didn't die.

"I'm gonna catch him, Bones. He'll pay for what he did to you, to my son and to Zach." he told her.

He couldn't bear looking at her knowing that the guy was still out there. He kissed her forehead and started to leave. Before he left the room, he looked at her as if it was for the last time.

Angela saw Booth leaving her room and stood up. Hodgins stood up too.

"Ready to go, Booth?" Hodgins asked.

"Yeah," He put his sunglasses "Let's go."

They left the hospital in a rush to go to the funeral. Little did they know that, as soon as they left the hospital, someone entered Brennan's room to start working in his revenge.


	14. One Bad Day

**A/N: **It took me a while to upload this, I know... but I've been preparing for school... It really sucks...now the uploads will take some time... sorry... I'm already working in the next chapter. You won't find out who entered Brennan's room in this one. Only in the next one.

Thanks for the reviews. Thank you _MS, PsychFan81692, jade254, Miss N.C.I.S. and mag31 _for the reviews on the last chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Just because I want to, doesn't mean I really own them... sadly...

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Chapter 14: One Bad Day

21st April 2.30 p.m. - Cemetery

It was a very dark day, not only because the sky was grey, but because they were saying goodbye to Zach.

Booth, Angela and Hodgins watched the burial of their friend Zach.

It was hard, very difficult. Not only because he was dead, but because of the way he died and the fact that his killer was still at large. Once again Booth felt guilty, because that bullet was supposed to be for him, not for Zach. He was the one that was supposed to die, not this young squint.

"It was me that was supposed to be there," he said.

"Don't you dare saying that again!" Angela said "If it wasn't you that died, it was because you're needed here, with us. Brennan needs you now more than ever."

"She doesn't need me… I let her down… Why would she need someone that couldn't protect her?" he said, holding his tears.

"She needs you and you know it! She doesn't want to admit it, but she does," she said, making him understand that it was important that he was with her now.

"You saw how she was?" he was trying to change the subject. Angela knew what he was doing, but she wasn't going to pressure him. Not now.

"That man is an animal. That's why we need you. So you can bring him to justice for what he did to her, to your son and to Zach." she said, pointing to the coffin.

"I've gotta go to the hospital. I want to be there when she wakes up," he started to leave.

"You don't need to. The doctor said that he calls if something happened. Go home. Your son needs you," she said after she caught up with him.

"Your right. But if you know something, please call me," he pleaded.

"I promise."

As Angela was saying goodbye to Booth, Cam approached Hodgins.

"Hey."

"You're kinda late," he said.

"I know. I just wanted to say goodbye," she said as she moved towards the coffin.

After all the goodbyes, all of the friends left the cemetery.

It wasn't fair someone so young die because some psychopath decided to, but that happens all the time, somewhere in the world. He just was unlucky to be one of them.

What they didn't know was that the guy they thought that was six feet under, was still somewhere in the world.

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People... Don't start thinking I kill him on purpose... I don't even say if it's 'our' Zach... you have to keep your faith alive... lol

Tell me if you want it to be Zach Addy or other Zach... Review.


	15. The Game Continues

**A/N:** Hello once again. Yes, I'm very aware that the previous episode was posted somewhere in October, which means I took about 9 months to post a new one. Reason why I won't even start to apologize. As the music says, _It's too late to apologize_, but I hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story. This one is short but I'll post the next one tomorrow or Saturday. You should probably read the story again, I mean 9 months usually make your mind _that_ foggy when it comes to details and pay special attention to the 13th chapter. Well, that said, I hope you enjoy.

Oh and I finally decided to change my penname from **xX Melissa Xx** to **Manu4380**.

**Disclaimer:** After 9 months of waiting, if I own Bones the fans would already left the show and moved on, by now...

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Chapter 15: The Game Continues

21st April 2.37 p.m.

Brennan was on sedatives to keep the pain from all her bruises and cuts down. Unfortunately, they made her really sleepy and she didn't notice the person that entered the room.

A pin prick in her arm woke her for the first time since she arrived at the hospital.

She blinked her eyes to get a clearer image of the person in front of her. Then she saw him. He was dressed as a doctor.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, rubbing the sore spot.

He hadn't expected her to wake up. Luckily for him, she hadn't see him injecting the poison.

"Now that you're widow, you'll have to be with me. We can be happy now that he's gone," he said smiling as he approached her.

"He's gone? Who's gone?" she asked, hoping against hope that he wasn't talking about the person she thought he was.

"Well… before I left the warehouse, just after you passed out, I shot your boyfriend… I don't think he made it…"

She fought tears as he continued.

"I told you that no one could come between us. Look at the bright side: We can make our own happy family now," he said, trying to reach her to kiss her.

"Never! I will never be yours!" she said pushing him off her, "I'm gonna call the nurses and tell them to call the police."

"Oh no you won't…" he grabbed her wrists. "If you can't be mine, you won't be anyone else's!"

She tried to fight him, but she felt weak unusually. 'Must be a side effect of the sedatives,' she thought.

"Oh… This is even better than I expected. It's working quickly," he said. "But I didn't expect you to wake up and someone will come to check you soon. It's not working fast enough."

"What are you talking about? I'm calling the nurse!" Again she tried to reach the button to call the nurse, but he grabbed a pillow and held it over her head to suffocate her.

Determination gave her an extra spurt of strength. The only way she could survive was hitting that buttom. With all the willpower she had left, she reached for it.

As soon as he heard the noise, he ran out of the room, leaving Brennan behind, lying in the bed, a flat line that indicated that her heart had stopped beating.

--

3.49 p.m. - Jeffersonian

"Hodgins, sweetie, I need you to take me to the hospital after I finish this. I need to see Brennan," she said, finishing her job as quickly as possible. She had a feeling that something had happened.

"Sure, dear heart. Let me grab my things and we can go."

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So... Wanna tell me something? Just leave me a review and tell me what you thought or anything else you want to tell me.


	16. The End of the Game, the End of Bones?

**A/N:** Okay, so... First of all, I know today is Sunday and I said I'd probably post on Saturday, but my computer was kinda crazy yesterday, so I didn't really have the chance to post it. Secondly, I'd like to thank for the reviews. Is good to know that even after all the time it took me to update the story, there's still people reading it. That just makes me smile. This one is a bit longer than the previous one, so it may take me a while to post the next chapter. Also, my beta is away for some time on vacations, so I'll just have to wait for her. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own Bones. Although I'm sure I own every mistake you may see...

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Chapter 16: The End Of The Game… And The End Of Bones?

21st April 3.15 p.m. - At the hospital

After leaving the cemetery, Cam went to see Brennan. They certainly weren't the best of friends, but they were getting along better now, or so she liked to think. She didn't want to be a "bad boss".

When she got to Brennan's room floor, she saw the doctor and some nurses running into Brennan's room at the end of the hall.

She was so focused on what was happening at the end of the corridor that she didn't even notice someone running into her, sending them both to the floor. Then she saw who it was. It was Oliver. He was getting on his feet, looking for something on the floor.

He suddenly stopped and she followed his gaze. He moved to get it, but Cam was quicker and she now had his gun in her hands. It had to be the same gun that had killed Zack a few hours before. He grabbed his knife and prepared to run while Cam was lost in her own thoughts, but she was still very aware that this was his only chance to escape.

She couldn't let that happen _again_.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, pointing the gun at him.

At this point, everyone in the long corridor was looking at the exchange with morbid fascination, curiosity warring with fear as they attempted to figure out which person was the good guy.

"I'm not going there again! I won't let you get me and send me back! I won't!" he grabbed his knife and threw it at Cam, hitting her on her left thigh, then started running.

Despite the pain, Cam knew better than to let him leave once again. As much as she didn't want to, she had to do it. She took aim and drilled him through the forehead. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Now that the confrontation was over, she began to notice the pain in her thigh. Suddenly her leg was unable to support her weight and she fell to the floor. A nurse ran to her side, "I need some help in here!"

--

3:51 p.m. - Booth's house

Booth wandered in his living room. His coat was on the couch and the keys to the SUV were somewhere on the table in the middle of the room.

He was worried and he still had to wait, wait until Parker was released and wait for any news on Brennan. Parker could be released at any moment now. They were just checking if he broke anything. The doctor said he'd call him as soon as Parker was ready to go and maybe by that time they'd have some news about his partner.

Deciding that pacing wasn't helping, he sat on his couch, leaned his head back and closed his eyes, his mind replaying the events of the last couple of days.

'_How could this have happened? It was supposed to be a special day and then everything would have gone back to normal.'_ He couldn't figure out exactly what happened, nothing had turned out as planned.

The ringing of his cell phone pulled him out of his reverie. He quickly grabbed his cell phone from the little table in front of him.

"Booth."

"Agent Booth? This is Doctor Mark. Your son is ready to go. You can come and pick him up."

"Yeah, sure. What about Dr. Brennan?" he said, hope evident in his voice.

"Well, I think it's better if we talk about it when you get here," he said calmly, but immediately his worry for his 'Bones' ratcheted up several notches.

"Uh… Okay, I'm on my way," he said, hanging up.

He grabbed his coat and his keys and was out of the door.

--

4:13 p.m. - At the hospital

After parking his car at the hospital's parking lot, he headed inside to get Parker and talk to the doctor about Brennan condition. After the doctor's words on the phone, he had a sinking feeling that something bad had happened and for the first time in his life, he wanted his gut feeling to be wrong.

When he stepped into the floor where Brennan's room was, he saw a lot of people and heard an equal amount of noise. Some of them were talking to policemen.

'_What happened here? Is it a party and they forgot to invite me?' _he thought sarcastically.

"Agent Booth?"

He turned and saw Dr. Mark there.

"What… What happened here?" Booth asked, trying to figure out why all the people were there.

"Let's just get Parker and then we talk about it, okay?" he said, leading Booth to an exam room at the other end of the hall.

"Daddy!" Parker ran into his father's arms as soon as he got into the room.

"How are you, buddy?" Booth asked him, picking him up.

"I'm fine, daddy. I'm not hurt," he said, his face breaking into a huge smile that made his father chuckle.

"Really?" Booth asked, more to the doctor than to Parker.

"Yes, he is. He didn't break anything. And his bruises will heal quickly, I'm sure," he answered smiling at the good news.

"That's great, bud! Now," he put Parker down and turned to the doctor, his tone more serious now, "what happened out there?"

"Well, we know that a man walked into Dr. Brennan's room--"

"How is she? Did he try to do anything to her? Where is he?" Booth asked, rapidly firing questions at the doctor, concern for his partner obvious in his voice.

"Let's just ask one question at a time, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. I'm sorry. I'll wait until you get to that part. Please, continue."

"Somehow, while escaping from the room, he bumped into Dr. Camille Saroyan and, from what the nurses said, he tried to run and gain some time by sending a knife right into her tight, but she took his gun and shot him dead."

"Dr. Camille Saroyan, really? How is she?"

"They're looking at the wound right now. It may be very dangerous and even fatal, depending on the exact place the knife went trough. But I suppose it won't be her case."

"What about the guy, do you know his name?"

"I heard he's called Oliver. Oliver something…"

"Oliver Laurier…" Booth said, with his fists clenched feeling his anger run in his veins.

"Yeah, that was the name. Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately. How's Dr. Brennan? Did he do anything to harm her?"

"We lost her for a moment, but we managed to bring her back to life."

"Thank God," Booth said and released the long breath he was holding.

"But she hadn't recovered yet from her injuries and we're certain that he injected something on her IV that's making recovery slow down a lot."

"Where is she? Is she okay now?"

"She's still in the operation room. I'm afraid it's still too soon to be able to answer that," the doctor told him truthfully.

Booth sat in the chair in front of the doctor's desk and put his head in his hands.

"Why don't you and Parker wait with your friends and I'll tell you all when I get news on Dr. Brennan's state."

"Angela and Hodgins are here?" Booth asked, getting on his feet.

"Yes, they're outside in the waiting room. You really shouldn't be alone right now, Agent Booth," he said, getting out of the exam room with Booth right behind him.

"Doctor Mark?"

He turned around, "Yes, Agent Booth?"

"Please, save her."

"I'll do my best." he smiled lightly, as to reassure him.

--

6:17 pm - At the hospital

Booth returned to the hospital, after getting Parker back to his mother and having someone remove Oliver's body from the hospital's floor.

"Any news, Angela?"

"She's still the operation room. I think it'll be a bit longer until they can tell us anything about her current state. We'll have to wait, Booth," she said, sadness taking over her features.

"I'll wait here. You can go home, if you want. I'll call you as soon as I know something, okay?"

She sighed and agreed, eventually, "Okay. I could really use some rest, actually. But you'll have to call me as soon as you get any news on her, even if it isn't a big change, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll call you as soon as they tell me something. You'll be the first one I'll call to. Now, go! You really need to rest," he said, pushing her towards the exit.

"Okay, okay. I'm going, mom!" She joked, trying to lighten the mood.

He smiled as she left.

'_Oh, Bones… You have such great friends here. Please, don't leave us now…'_

_--_

9:23 pm - At the hospital

"Agent Booth," he heard Dr. Mark calling him, getting is full attention now.

"How is she? Is she alright? Can I see her?" he asked the doctor, his voice full of concern.

"Not yet. She's still under observation, but as soon as she gets transferred to a room, you'll be able to see her."

"So… Is she okay now?"

"Not exactly…" the doctor started.

"Not exactly? What do you mean?" Booth asked, getting seriously worried now.

"There were some complications in the surgery. She's alive, but she's gotten into a coma," Dr. Mark explained.

"A coma? How long will it take until she wakes up?"

"That's just the thing, Agent Booth. We can't be sure. She could wake up anytime; it might be a few minutes or a few years."

"Years?! And all because of that bastard! Luckily he's already dead, otherwise he'd be dead really soon," Booth said, his anger taking over him.

"You'll be able to see her in a few moments. Talk to her, if you feel like it. Some experts have theorized coma patients respond to the voices of their loved ones."

"Yeah, sure. Thank you, doctor."

Dr. Mark showed Booth to the room where Brennan was, lying on a bed, her face pale, unaware that her friends were worried sick with her well being and of just how much they would suffer until she finally woke up.

* * *

So... Anything you may want to tell me? That it was good, that it sucked... That I should keep going or that I should just give up on it... Anything at all? Just review and tell me what you thought of it.


	17. When everything goes wrong

**A/N:** So, here's the next chapter. It took me a while to get it uploaded, but well... Lately I've been kinda busy. Not with school (yet!), but with other stuff. Once again, thanks for everyone that reviewed the last chapter and thanks for the story alerts. It's good to know that there's people out there that are really following this story. )

**Disclaimer:** No. The characters aren't mine, neither is the show. But the ideas for the story and any mistake you may find, probably are.

Chapter 17: When everything goes wrong…

21st April 10:46 p.m. - At the Hospital

Booth felt cold even though the hospital was warm. He sat there looking intensely at his partner as if she would wake from her coma because he wanted her to.

"Bones, I know that you can't see me or hear me," he laughed. _'__This is stupid. Talking to someone who can__'__t answer and probably can__'__t hear you either,__'_ he thought, but then he turned serious again, "If anything happens to you, I won't forgive myself."

He took her hand and held it tight. Some minutes later he stood up and kissed her forehead.

"Booth… You really need some rest. You can come back and see her tomorrow," Angela said as she entered the room.

He was too exhausted to argue. "Okay, just give me a minute."

He squeezed her hand once and then let go and followed Angela out of the room.

--

22nd April 9.35 p.m. - Jeffersonian

Booth looked at Angela. She thought he looked like a lost puppy. He just wasn't the same Booth without Brennan.

He was sad and desperate. He should've never let her go home alone. There was no way he could have known that Oliver was going to take her and then try to kill her at the hospital. But he still felt like it was his fault. It was his job to protect her and Oliver had almost succeeded.

Although it was late, the squints had decided to have dinner in the lab. None of them felt like go home, at least not now.

"I'm worried about her," Booth was the first to speak.

"We know you are. But you know she's a fighter. She's going to win this one," Hodgins said.

"She'll wake up soon. I know she will," Angela comforted him.

"You don't know that."

She wanted to tell him that she knew that, but even she was having second thoughts about it.

"I'm going to the hospital," he stood up and prepared to leave.

"You need to rest. You were there all day," she said, blocking his way and trying to make him stay. She knew that once he got there, he'd never leave the room.

"No!" he replied firmly, moving past her. "I need to be there! I don't want her to wake up alone."

"Booth, she'll wake up eventually, but I think it's still soon," Hodgins told him.

Booth's shoulder slumped. "You're not a doctor!"

"I didn't mean that she won't wake up now, we don't know that. I'm just saying that most coma patients don't wake up this soon."

"I know, but I won't be able to sleep knowing that she's not totally safe there."

"The hospital is a lot safer after what happened," Angela told him.

"I just want to be sure that it won't happen again. She's vulnerable now. I need to protect her. It's my job to protect her. And since I wasn't able to protect her the other times… I want to be sure I will this time," he said, once again feeling guilty for not being there to protect her from Oliver.

"We know, Booth," Angela said. Then she couldn't hold her question in any longer. "You really like her, don't you?"

"Of course I like her. She's my partner and my best friend. It's absolutely normal to be worried about her. Besides she's always getting into trouble," he smiled a little at that.

"That's not what I meant and you know it," she told him.

"You got it bad, man," Hodgins added.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You know what we're talking about and that's why you're reacting this way," Hodgins told him.

"Look, I'm in no mood for your paranoid conspiracies, okay?"

"You won't escape that easily to this conversation, but I'm gonna let it pass for now," Angela said smiling as if she just discovered his secret. "Take care of her. And don't worry. What you feel for her, and don't even try to deny it, she feels it for you too," she told him honestly.

"I'm going. Call me if you need something."

"We will," Hodgins said.

He was already at the doors of the Jeffersonian when Angela yelled, "And call us if something happens."

"Sure! Bye!"

"Bye!"

--

27th July 6.23 p.m. - Hospital

Booth entered in the hospital and went to the familiar room where Brennan still hadn't woken up from her coma.

Everyday it was the same thing, except when he had Parker, of course. Around 5 p.m. he'd leave the FBI building and go to the hospital to see his Bones. He'd spend the rest of the day with her, talking to her as if she was awake. After all, they say that when you talk to someone who is in coma, they'll listen everything you said, even though they can't answer. That's what he was holding onto. He had to believe that it was true. That was the only thing that connected him to her.

He would only leave the room to grab eat something. When he ran out of things to say, he'd fall asleep with his hand on hers, assuring that she would be safe while he slept. The next day, he'd wake up to see that she was still in the coma.

Angela would arrive at 8 a.m. to stay with her, while Booth grabbed a shower and breakfast, before heading to work. These days he did most things mechanically. The only things that brought him to life were his son and his time in her hospital room.

It had been three months and nothing changed. The situation was wearing him down. He missed her. Unable to stand the idea of investigating cases with her, he had temporarily switched to a desk job.

Angela and Hodgins were sad. Both because they missed Brennan and because Booth was suffering and there was nothing they could do to change that.

Booth was desperately trying to hold onto his faith, but the longer the situation lasted, the harder it became. Today though, the feeling that this was going to be a good day bolstered his faith.

He entered the room slowly, hoping that when he looked at Brennan, she'd be awake, those blue eyes looking at him, her voice saying that she didn't like hospitals. He smiled at the thought, but when he saw that nothing had changed, the smile left his face.

He took his usual spot in the chair next to her bed. Taking her hand in his, he hoped the simple gesture would be enough to her wake, but the only movement was her breathing.

"Please… You have to wake up. I need you to wake up, Bones," he said, tears in his eyes. "Three months is too long! I need you to wake up. The squints need you… I need you…"

He couldn't hold the tears anymore. He put his head on his arm and cried quietly, all the while gently holding her hand.

Eventually, he fell asleep, dreaming that none of this happened. The world was right and Brennan was safe.

He heard her calling him sweetly "Booth? Booth…?"

Her voice seemed weak. Then it hit him.

'_What if she woke up? Am I dreaming?'_ he thought. In that moment he felt something squeezing his hand lightly.

He opened his eyes and glanced around. He slept in the hospital again … Then he remembered Brennan's voice calling him, but when he looked at her, her eyes were still closed.

'_I need some rest… I must be hallucinating.'_

He decided that he'd go home today. His back was begging for something more comfortable than a hospital chair. He stood up, kissed Brennan's forehead and prepared to leave.

He was almost outside the room when the sound of her voice made him stop. This time, he was sure it wasn't a dream.

"Booth?"

* * *

So... Did you think it was good or bad? Just submit a review and tell me your thoughts about this chapter and any ideas for the next ones. You can also point out any mistake, so I can correct it. ;)


	18. There's A Light At The End Of The Tunnel

**A/N:** Hi there! I'm sorry. It took me a while to update this story, but you probably know that there are times in your life that you have to establish priorities and I chose school first, fanfiction later. I hope you can understand that. :)

Thanks for everyone that reviewed the last chapter and thanks for the people that have been following this story and adding it to the alerts and even favorites! Thanks! =D

**Disclaimer:** Well, I don't exactly own anything apart from any spelling mistakes, so... Here's the next chapter anyway. ;P

* * *

Chapter 18: There's a light at the end of the tunnel

"Booth?" her voice was weak, but he was so focused on her that he heard her perfectly.

"Bones? Are you awake?" he asked, still not fully believing this was really happening. He then approached the bed, sat in the chair again and took her hand in his. He was now certain this really wasn't a figment of his imagination.

"Booth? Where am I? What happened?" she asked. Her throat felt sore and she looked around trying to find out where she was. "I… I thought you were dead."

He handed her a glass of water. "You're in the hospital. You were in a coma for more than 3 months and now you're finally awake. I knew you wouldn't give up," he smiled for the first time in months. "And I'm here. Alive and well, now that you finally got out of the coma."

She smiled back as she finished drinking her water.

"I'm going to call the doctor to tell him that you woke up," he moved to stand, but she grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she said, and he looked at her expectantly. "It's Oliver. He's the guy who took me. He got out of the prison. He…"

He cut her off. "Shh… Take it easy. He won't hurt you anymore, believe me. Now rest. I'm going to call the doctor."

He stood and went to the door to leave, but he heard her sarcastic comment right before he stepped outside.

"Like I haven't been doing just that for the last 3 months…"

He smiled and shook his head.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When he was out of the room, he started searching for the doctor, but then decided to call Angela first to give her the good news.

"_Booth? What happened?"_ she asked as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Hi, Angela. She finally woke up! I'm on my way to get the doctor, so I'll have to hang up soon. I just wanted you to hear the good news," he said. He was pretty sure she hadn't heard anything after he said that Brennan had woken up, since there was a loud squeal on the other end. "Yeah. I'll see you later."

"_Bye, Booth! Hodgins!"_ she yelled as she hang up.

He finally found Dr. Mark.

"Doctor?"

"Yes. Agent Booth, right?" he answered, recognizing him from the last 3 months he had spent in his patient's room.

"Yes. Dr. Brennan just woke up."

"That's great news. Let's go see her, then," the doctor said, leading the way back to Brennan's room.

After examining Brennan, the doctor had told Booth that Brennan seemed to be out of danger, but he'd like to keep her hospitalized for another week for observation. He needed to run some tests to verify that she was okay and that there was no risk of a relapse.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that she was awake, Booth didn't feel the need to be with her 24/7. He had a lot of paperwork to catch up on and Cullen would be asking for it soon.

Still he asked Angela to stay with her whenever he couldn't be there so that Bones wouldn't even think about leaving the hospital. Plus he was pretty sure they needed one of their "girl talks" to discuss what had happened since that tragic day Brennan was taken.

Two days after Brennan had woken up from her coma, Angela was sitting in the chair next to the hospital bed where Brennan was sleeping, drawing something to fight the boredom hospitals always provided her.

"Ange?" Brennan said, making Angela jump in her seat.

"Gosh, Bren! A little bit of warning first, okay?" she said putting her hand on her chest as if to calm her now racing heart.

"I'm sorry, I did not mean to startle you," Brennan apologized.

"Imagine if you did!" Angela said, making Brennan laugh. "It's okay, just try not to do it again. So what did you want, sweetie?"

"I want you to tell me what happened," she said, confusing Angela. "The last thing I remember is someone injecting something on my IV and then grabbing a pillow and holding it over my face. I couldn't breathe. Then everything went black. It was Oliver, wasn't it?"

Angela nodded, "Yes, sweetie, it was. But Cam took care of him. You don't need to worry about him anymore."

"Cam took care of him? How?"

"She killed him, Bren."

"Oh…" Brennan said, not sure of what else to say.

"Right… Can't you just be happy for being back?"

"I am, really. But I must've missed a lot in 3 months. I'm sure a lot of things happened, right?"

"It was 3 months, sweetie. Three whole months with a lot of suffering, believe me. Specially for Booth," Angela answered truthfully.

"He looks different… and tired."

"No wonder, sweetie. He was in here the whole time! He would only leave when I was here, and even then it was sometimes hard to put him out of the door! He would fall asleep and wake up in here, Brennan, just so that he could be the one with you in case you woke up. After two months of you being in a coma he started to lose hope. It was heart-breaking. But every morning when I arrived to make him to go home, it seemed like his hope arose again. It was impressive, really, like something happened every night that gave some strength to his hope. I'm not sure what it was, but it was all he had left so he held onto it."

"Oh… I… I had no idea," Brennan said, feeling somewhat guilty that she was the reason they stopped living their lives like they had before.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. I didn't mean to make you feel bad," Angela said when she looked at Brennan's sad face. "I just want you to catch up with reality. He wouldn't have stayed if he didn't care so much. He loves you, Bren. And I know you like him too, don't even try to deny it."

"Not now, Ange," Brennan said, rolling her eyes at her friend.

"Then when is it going to be? You should really give it a chance, Bren," she said, trying to convince her best friend of something everyone else except the two partners knew.

"Really, Angela, not now. We'll talk about it later, I promise. After all, you went 3 months without annoying me, so you must've gotten bored." They both laughed at this.

"Promise?"

"I already told you, I promise."

"Okay. I'll let it go this time, but you know we'll have this conversation, whether you want it or not."

"Yeah, right. Like I could ever possibly escape…" Brennan said, rolling her eyes once again.

"Escape from what?" Booth asked, as he got into the hospital room.

"Oh nothing, just…" Angela started.

"Nothing, really," Brennan said, cutting her off and sending her a pointed look.

"O-kay…" he said still a bit confused.

"Now that you're here, I'm going back to the Jeffersonian. I have work to do and it sure won't get done by itself," Angela said, gathering her things and then moving to hug Brennan, whispering in her ear, "Remember what I said. Don't let this opportunity go to waste!"

"Bye, Ange."

"Bye, Bren. You're in good hands," Angela said, winking at Booth and exiting the room, leaving the partners alone.

This wasn't the first time they were alone together, but the other times hadn't lasted very long. Booth wanted to come see Brennan, but he didn't intend to stay for long, even though Angela called and asked him to stay with Brennan so she could finish some work.

"So…" he started.

"So…" she repeated, not sure of what to say next.

"How are you today?" he asked, making a small talk.

"I'm better, I guess… After three months in a coma, being awake is a good thing, I suppose. It's a sign of improvement," she answered.

"Right, sorry…" he said, feeling a little silly.

"You don't have to be sorry. I know you were just trying to start a conversation. Besides, it's not like it is your fault that I was in a coma before."

"Well, if you think about it carefully, he used you to get to me to that warehouse, so I think it is sort of my fault, since you got hurt," Booth said, his face covered sadness and an apologetic tone in his voice.

"Hey, Booth, don't blame yourself for this. It's not your fault that a crazy obsessed man wanted to kill you and used me to get to you. Also, he thought that I would marry him and that we'd have a child together and then when he knew I wouldn't be with him he tried to kill me. The main was certifiable!"

Suddenly, he was caressing her face with his hand. She closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling as much as he was. When she opened her eyes she could see his warm brown eyes looking deeply into hers. They got lost in their own world for a long time, until the nurse knocked on the door, bringing them back to reality, looking away slightly embarrassed as if they had been caught making out.

Booth let his hand fall to his side and got up from the chair and away from the bed.

"Dr. Brennan, we need to run some tests. If the results are good, then you may go home tomorrow. Dr. Mark said that you were improving at a good rate, so you'll probably go home sooner than expected," the nurse informed her.

"Well, I better get going. I still need to finish a few things," Booth said still feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Yeah, sure. See you later, Booth," Brennan answered while the nurse helped her up.

"Bye, Bones," Booth said, leaving the room.


	19. Home, Sweet Home

**A/N:** Hey, there! I'm sorry it took me so long to post this, but school has been a total chaos! I'll try and work faster on the next chapter but it won't be ready before the next weekend. Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. And don't worry, I didn't forget about the Zack thing in this story. I just need to sort out some ideas and I'll work on it soon, I promise. Well, I'm done here, so you can now read the chapter (or go back to the last chapter and read it and then come back and read this one. It happen, I guess). I hope you'll enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** Check the last chapters if you're still not sure I own it or not.

* * *

Chapter 19: Home, Sweet Home

Brennan was being released from the hospital today. She was getting ready to leave, all the while wondering where Angela was, as she was supposed to come get her. She was putting her coat on when her cell phone rang.

"Brennan."

"_Sweetie, how are you?" _Angela asked.

"Ange! Where are you? I'm here waiting for you."

"_I'm sorry, but I won't be able to pick you up now, sweetie."_

"Wha… Then who's gonna take me home?"

"I will," Booth said from the doorway.

"Booth, can you wait a minute outside, please?" Brennan asked, putting her hand over the phone.

"Yeah, sure! Just let me know when you're ready so we can go."

As he left, Brennan returned to her phone conversation.

"Are you crazy?!" Brennan yelled into the phone.

"_Why? You two needed some time alone. I thought…"_ she started to explain herself.

"That's not what you thought and we both know it," Brennan said, interrupting Angela.

"_You can't blame me for being who I am and you love me just the way I am. Besides, I'm kinda late right now, so I really won't be able to make it. I'll just go straight to my house after this. I'll talk to you soon!"_

"Okay, Ange. Whatever you want. But I'm telling you already that I'm not going to do what you think I'm going to do."

"_Does that mean you're going to do something that I wouldn't think you'd do?"_ Brennan could tell that she was smiling right now.

"I'm hanging up, Angela."

"_Just remember what I told you the other day, Bren. Don't let this opportunity go to waste!"_

"Bye, Ange."

"_See you later, sweetie."_

Brennan took a deep breath, grabbed her bag and walked out of the door into the corridor where Booth was leaning against the wall, waiting for her.

"I'm ready."

He looked up and smiled broadly. "Let's go then." He grabbed the bag from her, and, ignoring her protests, began to walk down the hall.

On their way to Booth's SUV, they started arguing again like they always did before. It was like the previous 3 months hadn't really happened. Brennan was still trying to get the bag back from him, but Booth wouldn't give it to her, so she'd start lecturing him on his alpha male tendencies. All in all, they were back to being themselves, for the moment.

The trip was spent in a comfortable and pleasant silence, until Brennan noticed that they weren't heading towards her place.

"Booth?"

"Yeah?"

"This is not the way to my place," she observed.

"I know that," he said, looking at her and smiling lightly for a second, before focusing again on the road.

"Then why are you going the wrong way?"

"I never said we were going to your place, so what exactly makes you think we're heading in the wrong direction?" he smiled mischievously. He loved being one-up on her.

"If you're not taking me back to my apartment, then where are you taking me?"

"I'm taking you to Angela's place," Brennan opened her mouth to speak, but he kept going. "I talked with the doctor and he said that you ought to stay with someone just in case you need some help, since you're still not fully recovered."

"Then why didn't she pick me up instead of you?"

"Because she went to your place to gather your things. Would you prefer it was me getting them for you?" he teased.

She turned her blushing face toward the window, but he was too focused on the road to notice.

"I think you're going to be in her place for a while. You're going to socialize! I'm so proud!" he joked.

She hit him playfully, "Yeah, yeah. Joke all you want. Who knows what she did to my place looking for clothes and whatever. My place is probably in chaos now."

They laughed at this. Booth had no idea how Angela got when she was looking for what she wanted. It had take Brennan two weeks to put her closet back in order after the last time she'd asked Angela for outfit advice. The woman had gone through her closet like a whirlwind.

On one hand, Brennan would have fun staying at Angela's. She'd really miss those moments with just the two of them. They had been too busy with the cases lately for any girl time. On the other hand, she was somewhat nervous about the conversations they'd have.

Still, it would be a lot more awkward if she had to stay with Booth, so she didn't even think about refusing Angela's help.

When they arrived at Angela's place, Booth opened the door and helped her out. If it were any other day, she would've said she could do it on her own, but this time she needed all the help she could. She wouldn't be playing the strong and independent woman game today.

"Thanks," she said, earning a warm smile in return. No woman in her right mind could resist that smile, much less one that had just been released from the hospital. She couldn't help but smile back at him.

It felt good to be back. Even though not much time had passed, it had been full of worry and danger, so seeing her friends smiling and obviously happy made her feel better.

He walked her to the door with his hand on her waist, securely holding her, as she was too weak to walk completely on her own right now.

Angela was already home, as evidenced by her parked car. The moment she heard Booth's SUV pulling into her drive, she pressed her ear to the door, desperate to know what was going on but wanting to give them a little time and space.

"It looks like you're not going to see me for a while," she said, trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

"I can always stop by, if you invite me," he suggested. He wanted a reason to see her more often during the time she'd be staying at Angela's.

"What, you're gonna miss me all that much?" she teased him.

"You're going to miss me even more," he said seductively, invading her personal space.

"I'm not going to miss you, Booth," she lied, taking a step back from him.

"So you're planning on my visiting every day? Because that's the only way you won't miss me," he said. "If you want, I can sleep here tonight so you won't be deprived of my presence."

Brennan hit him playfully in the arm.

"Ah… the wonders of young love," Angela said, opening the door. "There's enough space for you, Booth, if you want to sleepover tonight."

"Angela…" Brennan started.

"What? I'm just saying…" she said, feigning innocence.

"Thanks for the offer, Angela, but it looks like Bones wouldn't enjoy my presence much," he said, getting hit again.

'_If only you knew, Booth, if only you knew…'_ Angela thought.

"Now, seriously, I really can't stay. If something happens or if Bones tries to go back to the lab, call me," Booth told Angela. Then he turned to Brennan, "And you, if she is annoying you too much, call me and I'll have a word with her."

"Sure," Brennan said, smiling slightly at him, "Bye, Booth."

"Goodbye, Temperance." He pulled her into a hug.

Angela stood there watching them. They were perfect for each other and everybody could see it. The question was: Why couldn't they see it too?

'_Brennan and I are going to have a serious talk about this later,'_ Angela thought.

"Bye, Angela," Booth said, on his way to his SUV.

"Bye, Booth." Angela waved and followed Brennan inside, closing the door behind her.

'_Well, he said he could stop by if she invited him, but I know she just won't do it. She doesn't want him to think she missed him. Although, that doesn't necessarily mean that I can't invite him. Maybe he'll come and I'll lock them in a room. No… That'd be way too predictable. The truth is that they were doing just fine on their own when they got here. Perhaps it won't take all that long until one of them makes a move.,'_ Angela started plotting, remembering what had just happened between her friends.

"So, Bren," Angela started.

"Don't start, Ange," Brennan said, interrupting her. She made her way to the guestroom at the end of the hallway.

"What? I just wanted to say that that looked like a nice place to be."

"Huh?" Brennan dropped her bag inside the room and began to unpack it into the dresser.

"I meant the arms of Booth. That was a nice not-so-partner-like hug that the two of you just shared. I smell love in the air," Angela teased her from the doorway.

Brennan threw a shoe at her, and she jumped back. The anthropologist firmly closed the door, but she could still hear Angela yelling back at her.

"Now that's just rude, Bren!"

Brennan smiled and Angela chuckled.

'_Maybe all they need is just a little push in the right direction…'_

Any thoughts about this?

* * *


	20. Overcoming Fears

**A/N:** It's been a while... If you're reading this, I'm glad you decided to keep on following the story. I haven't updated in a long while and I'm really sorry for that but I really haven't had the time to do it properly and I didn't want to write something crappy just to update the story.

That said, I hope you're enjoying and thanks for the reviews. =)

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing.

* * *

Chapter 20: Overcoming Fears

_2 days later_

Brennan was sitting on Angela's couch reading a book when Angela sat down next to her.

"Okay, Bren. Now you won't get away."

Brennan put her book down and looked at Angela, confused.

"Get away from what, Angela? The way I am right now I couldn't even get away from a snail!" Brennan joked.

"Very funny. I see you're learning from that knight of yours," Angela teased her.

"Now, who's the funny one?"

"Okay, enough with the jokes. Seriously, Bren, you haven't talked with Booth since you got here."

"So what? He left me here 2 days ago. It's not like we haven't seen or talked to each other in years."

"Oh, come on! This is me you're talking to. It's not like I believe you're not here just waiting for him to knock on that door!"

Brennan tried to interrupt, but Angela cut her off before she had the chance to. "Oh no, you won't. Don't even open your mouth to deny it, lady! You've been looking at that door every five minutes for the last two days!"

Brennan lowered her head, embarrassed at getting caught.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that that FBI agent of yours is looking at his phone waiting for your call," Angela finished with a knowing smile

"That's not true. He's probably working," Brennan said, a hint of disappointment present in her voice.

"Oh right. He didn't just leave his precious bones lady that - and I must point this out - was in a coma for 3 months," Angela said sarcastically. "It's true and you know it, Bren. You're just saying that because you're trying to compartmentalize and get back to denying your feelings for him." She put her hand on Brennan's shoulder. "Sweetie, both Hodgins and I can prove it to you, if what you need is proof."

Brennan laughed.

"I know we've been trying to get you together for, like, forever, but we can't deny what we see between you two. He spent every night and day with you in that hospital room just so he could be there when you finally woke up." Brennan looked skeptically at her. "Okay, so maybe it wasn't every night and day there. He still had Parker every once in a while." Angela stopped for a moment, deep in thought. "I think Parker was everything he had left after what happened…"

Brennan felt a wave of sadness and guilt wash over her. Angela saw it on her features and took her hand in hers.

"Sweetie, it's not your fault. You can't be hold responsible for the actions of the man that put you into a coma after he tried to kill you."

"I know that, Ange, I really do but if I had gone home earlier, like Booth told me to, none of this would've happened," Brennan said, looking at the floor.

"Bren, he was waiting for you in that car parked outside your house, just waiting for you to get home and steal you away from us. No matter what time you got home, he'd still be there, ready to get you."

Brennan sighed. "Yeah. Maybe you're right. Thanks, Angela."

"You're more than welcome, sweetie." She smiled encouragingly. "Go on."

"Go where?" Brennan asked, confused.

"Call Booth, of course. What else could it be?"

"Why would I do that?" Brennan asked, turning towards Angela.

"Because you want to. I think that's a pretty good reason, don't you think? One of the best, really!"

Brennan shook her head. "No, I don't think so, because I don't want to call him."

"I'll give you three seconds to do it. One…"

"Ange…"

"Two…"

"Angela!"

Angela was about to say the last number when the doorbell rang. She smirked.

"Saved by the bell. Literally."

Brennan stood up and eyed her suspiciously as she went to the door. She looked through the peephole.

"Oh," Brennan said, opening the door.

Angela straightened and looked at the door.

"I just knew it!" she exclaimed as she saw Booth there, but quickly shut up as Brennan threw her a deadly look.

"Hey," he said as he stepped into the house.

"Hi…" Angela started moving towards the door, "… and bye. I'm gonna see if it's raining outside or something."

When they didn't say anything nor did they move the slightest bit, she smiled and moved outside.

"Yeah, I thought so, too. I'm going, then. Call me if you need something. And, Bren?"

That made Brennan react and look at her.

"Yes?"

Angela approached her and whispered, "Grab your chance and don't let it go!"

She left, closing the door behind her.

"You didn't call…" he started as soon as the door closed.

"Well, Angela wasn't all that unbearable." She smiled. "Besides, I told you I wouldn't miss you. It's barely been two days and here you are, already at my door, so you must have missed me," she teased.

"I came because I knew that you _would_ miss me and you weren't going to call me because you didn't want me to be aware of the effects my absence has on you," he said, charm smile at full wattage.

She knew deep down that he was right, but she wasn't about to let him win that easily.

"That is so not true! You were the one who missed me, so you had to come and see me."

"That's not it and you know it."

"You're just telling your version of the story which is, in this case, the wrong one."

"Is it?" he asked, stepping closer to her. "Is it really?" Then he started tickling her.

She tried to escape his attack but she started to panic a little, remembering Oliver and what he did to her in that warehouse not long ago, in her mind at least.

"Stop, Booth! Please! Stop it!"

Realizing what just happened, he stopped and moved away quickly.

"I'm sorry, Temperance. It was never my intention to make you freak out or scare you like this." He headed for the door, afraid he'd do something else wrong, cursing himself silently for forgetting something so important.

When he was near the door, he felt a hand tentatively grab for his arm. The hold grew stronger as she became more confident. She took a deep breath and reminded herself that this was Booth and he would never harm her. There was no need for her to freak out at his touch.

"Booth, I'm going to need help to get through this." She looked down, ashamed for having to admit defeat.

"Do you want me to call Dr. Wyatt and get an appointment for you?"

"No. I meant for you to help me, not a psychiatrist."

"Oh." He smiled, happy that she trusted him enough to fight her reactions to him and help her through this. "Well, then. What do you want me to do?"

She dropped her hand. "I think we should go easy because my body reacts to any touch that's not so light, that is. Either it's yours or Angela's. Although, we should keep pushing the line a little bit at a time or I'll never be able to react well to other people's touches."

"Okay. I understand that. So," he started, "should I leave now or…?"

"I think a hug would be very welcome now." Brennan approached him slowly.

"I can manage that," he grinned at her, opening his arms.

He waited for her to take the first step. He didn't want her to freak out again.

She slid her arms around him._'__This is Booth. Come on, no need to freak out. He__'__s not going to hurt you.__'_

As if finally resolved, she hugged him tightly.

He was surprised by her sudden actions, but he hugged her back, just not so tight.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Angela had almost determined to leave when the temptation got the best of her and she decided this was something she just had to see: their first real interaction after everything that happened, so she walked all the way back.

When she got there, she looked through the window. She could hear them talking. Then she saw Booth moving towards the door with a sad face and she immediately hid so he wouldn't see her.

She never heard the door, so she peaked again to see what was going on.

She saw Brennan stepping into Booth's arms, with a very thoughtful expression upon her face. For a few seconds, Brennan's expression reflected her internal battle. Then, all of a sudden, she closed her eyes, buried her face in Booth's neck and held him tight, while he hugged her back with a little less intensity.

Angela smiled at the sight in front of her. There they were, hugging each other in her living room after nearly losing it all because of some lunatic.

She didn't want to break this beautiful moment but she knew them too well to let them stay there too long and then let things get uncomfortable.

She opened the door and couldn't help feeling a little guilty when they split from the embrace, coughing and trying to pretend that what she'd been watching didn't just happen.

"I gotta go now or else Cullen won't let me hear the end of it," Booth said, stepping back and away from Brennan.

"Sure. Go ahead," she said a little awkwardly. "We'll talk later."

"What? You're going to miss me that much? I didn't leave the house yet and you're already talking about calling me later?" he teased her to lighten the mood.

"You know, I'm still recovering but don't doubt for one second that I'll totally kick your ass for saying that."

"Well, I better go, then!"

Angela laughed at the exchange. "You're just too cute."

"What? Did you say something? I didn't catch it…" Booth asked.

"Moi? Non…" she quickly dismissed him, "Weren't you about to leave?"

"Oh, really?" Booth said, putting his hand over his heart, "You wound me. You're all trying to get rid of me as quickly as possible. Never would've thought…"

"I'm just saying it'd be good if you left before Bren here changes her mind and really kicks your ass. Now, we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"Absolutely not!" he answered. "Bye, Bones," he said, kissing her forehead. "Bye, Angela."

After the door closed and the two friends were left alone once more, Angela went back to taunting Brennan.

"How come you get a kiss and all I get is a wink?"

"Oh, don't start, Ange," she said, rolling her eyes, knowing very well what she was trying to do.

"What? What did I do wrong now?"

"I'm gone," Brennan said, moving to "her" room to avoid further conversations on this topic.

'_Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!'_ Angela thought, smiling broadly.

* * *

So what do you think? Was it worth the wait or not really?


	21. Everything Comes to an End… Or Maybe Not

**A/N:** Hey everyone! So since life is getting pretty crazy right now and I can't promise regular updates anytime soon, I decided that this will be the last chapter for now. I'll write a sequel and everything that didn't get mentioned here will be mentioned there (if you can think of something, please remind me and I'll make sure I won't forget about it). I'll be working on the sequel with **maggie712** so hopefully we'll get the work done quicker and we'll update more regularly. We'll start posting the new story when we're a few chapters ahead.

I want to thank everyone who read, favorited and added this story to the alerts. Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed this story. It's always good to know what people think and how to improve the story so more people will like it. =)

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own anything. If I did, people probably wouldn't watch it for the lack of new episodes in a very long period of time. xD

* * *

Chapter 21: Everything comes to an end… or maybe not

_A month later…_

Brennan was sitting on Angela's couch with her laptop on the table in front of her, writing her next book.

"How do I look?" Angela asked, modeling for her.

"I'm sure you look good," Brennan replied without even taking her eyes off the document she was currently working on.

"You didn't even look, Bren!"

"Okay, okay." She looked up from her laptop. "Wow."

"Is it a good 'wow' or a bad 'wow'?"

"Definitely a good 'wow.' Are you going out?"

"Yes. Hodgins is taking me out to dinner. And don't worry, I won't leave you all alone."

"You're going out to dinner for two people only."

"Yup. That's true."

"So you'll leave and I'll be at home."

"Right again." Angela smiled knowingly.

Brennan got suspicious. "I'm confused, then. You're going out." Angela nodded. "But, clearly, I'm not going. But you're not leaving me alone?"

Brennan had that 'I don't know what that means' look on her face, while Angela smiled wickedly. "Wait for it… wait for it…"

Brennan finally realized what was going on. "Oh… No!"

"Oh yeah! I knew you'd get there, sweetie. I'm so proud!"

"You didn't."

"Oh, but I did," she said, laughing at her best friend's horrified expression.

"You're so full of it."

"Yeah, whatever makes you happy, sweetie. I already called him anyway, so he'll probably come by in the next minutes or so."

"I'm a grown up, Ange. I can take care of myself. I don't need a baby sitter."

"Oh, so that's what we're calling him now?" Angela teased, earning her a cushion to the face. "Okay, okay. I surrender." Brennan smiled triumphantly. "But he's coming anyway, so…" She threw the cushion back at Brennan. "I win!"

Brennan's smile dropped.

"Don't be sad, sweetie. I'm sure you'll have lots of fun together," she teased again, putting extra emphasis on the word _together._

"Angela!"

The horn of a car was heard.

"Look! That must be Hodgins. Not saved by the bell, but pretty close, huh?" She winked at Brennan, who rolled her eyes as a response. "I don't know if I'll be back later…"

"Sure, don't worry. I'll be fine on my own. I'm not afraid of the Bogeyman."

"Well, if you change your mind or if Mr. Bogeyman scares the crap out of you, you can always ask Booth to stay the night."

"Ange…" Brennan warned.

"I'm just saying… I don't think he would mind staying in the couch all that much, really. And Bren, please, don't overanalyze the situation whatever it may be. Don't fight it. Let whatever has to happen, happen." Hodgins honked again. "I have to go. Bye, sweetie."

She hugged Brennan and kissed her cheek.

"Have fun!"

"I will, don't doubt it for a second!"

They both laughed knowing how true that statement was.

"Now, seriously, don't waste another chance, Bren."

"Bye, Ange," Brennan said pushing her out of the door - purposely ignoring her comment - and waved them goodbye.

--

"Do you think we did it right?" Hodgins asked as soon as Angela got into the car and closed the door.

"Yes. They need this."

"I don't think it'll work. I mean, didn't you try something like this before and you didn't succeed?"

"Yes, you are right, but I believe that this time it'll work out just as planned."

Hodgins raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"What? If you'd seen the way they were looking at each other two days ago, you wouldn't think like that."

"Okay, then. Whatever makes you happy, my dear."

She smiled. "Are you trying to change my mind and send me back home again? You decided you don't want my company anymore?" She teased him, putting one hand on the seatbelt and the other on the door handle.

He grabbed her hand and entwined their fingers. "Of course I didn't change my mind! I'd spend the rest of my life with you by my side, if you'd have me."

She smiled and kissed him long and passionately.

"Okay. I believe you. Let's go, then!"

--

After Angela left, Brennan tried to go back to her writing but her mind chose to focus on the person who was supposed to make an appearance anytime now.

She hadn't written more than 2 lines when someone knocked on the door.

"Coming!"

Brennan opened the door and came face to face to the one and only Seeley Booth - the cause of her distraction - with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

"Hey."

"Hi."

They stood like that for a couple of seconds, just smiling at each other, until Brennan broke their gaze and stepped aside to let him in.

"So, how's it going?"

"Good. It's going really well."

They moved to the living room and he saw her laptop.

"You were writing! Let's read it." He made a beeline for the laptop.

"No, no! Don't even think about it!" She yanked the laptop away from him.

"Aww. Don't tell me it was a hot and steamy scene between the leads. I promise I won't blush."

Brennan did blush, though. "No. It's not. And you know how I feel about you reading any of my work before it's published."

"Won't you make an exception for me now?" He smiled his best charm smile.

"Not going to happen, Booth, so you might as well forget about it." She saved the document and closed her laptop.

Booth sat on her couch.

"Do you want something to drink?"

"No, thanks. I was told to come here protect someone, so I can't really drink. I'm on duty."

She sat down and punched him playfully in the arm. "Shut up."

"That's what she told me. You can trust me on that."

Brennan sighed. "Yeah. I told her I'm old enough to look after myself, but she insisted. Can't argue with her when she sets things in her head. I've tried and failed too many times."

Booth laughed. "Yeah. The same thing happened to me."

Brennan looked at him suddenly. "You didn't want to come?"

"Oh, not that! I did want to come. I was talking about something else…" He looked down at the carpet under his shoes.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Nothing important." He decided to change the subject. "So apart from writing, are you having fun here?"

"As a matter of fact I am, yes. Angela is great company except when she starts badgering me." She sighed. "And we already agreed that she can be pretty stubborn."

Booth chuckled. "Yeah."

Brennan looked at the floor now. She wanted to bring this up someway. She wanted to talk about this, but she didn't know how to do it.

'_Angela would love to be a fly on the wall right now.'_

"I… She told me about the time I was in a coma."

"Oh?" He looked at her, curious about what Angela had told her.

"She… uh… she said you were there… a lot." She leaned forward and looked at him for a second before averting her gaze from his face.

He sighed. He knew this would come up sometime. It wouldn't be Brennan if she didn't mention it sometime.

"I was. I wanted to be there with you when you woke up. To make sure you were okay and that you knew we caught Oliver and you were safe."

"But why did you do it? You didn't need to do more than once a day. Why stay over night and come back right after work?"

"Because I care, okay? You are my partner and I care," he said, his voice rising slightly as he spoke. He got up and stood by the window, looking outside.

Brennan walked up to him. Putting her hand on his shoulder, she turned him around, but he wouldn't meet her eyes.

"I know you care. And you know I care about you just as well. But… uh…" She took a deep breath. "You care just… as a partner?"

He finally looked at her and was immediately trapped by her questioning gaze. The urge to kiss her right then and there swept over him so strongly his knees almost buckled.

He just couldn't fight it anymore. He was tired of all the chasing and he almost lost her in the process. To hell with the consequences.

He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her gently.

She froze for a moment or two in shock. By the time she realized what was happening he broke the kiss.

Brennan opened her eyes and raised her eyebrows, still a bit surprised that he had crossed the line so definitively and without any warning.

Booth on the other hand started to freak out.

"I… I'm sorry." He ran for the door. "I'll be back later."

"Booth!" Brennan called, starting after him. The phone rang.

"Damn!" she muttered.

"Hello?"

"_Doctor Brennan?"_

"Yeah. Who's this?"

"_I'm calling from the hospital. We found Dr. Zack Addy. I was told to call you if we found him."_

"Zack? Are you sure?"

"_Pretty sure, yes. That's just one problem…"_

"What's wrong?"

"_He doesn't remember the last 3 years of his life."_

"Thank you for calling. Where is he? I'll be there as soon as possible," she said, grabbing a small notebook and a pen.

"Thank you."

She ran out the door, barely dropping the phone in its place.

"Booth!"

He was about to get into the SUV when he heard her voice. He turned around just to see her running towards him. She had a surprised and desperate look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Zack, he's… He's alive."


End file.
